Maybe There's A Shark In The Water
by jellybean5898
Summary: Finnick/Annie. A One-Shot with 3 chapters, lol.  : It's pretty lame, but I tried.
1. Chapter 1

Maybe There's A Shark In The Water

_"Just ask questions. That's what Annie does." -Finnick Odair, Mockingjay._

"Stop!" I shout, and try and yank myself free. "Oh, god! Please, stop!" I'm being hysterical, my chest feels weird, and my head is pounding. The tribute holding me, Shine, won't let go. And Samantha, the tribute from 2, is holding Merrick, my district partner.

Merrick means 'protector of the sea'. He's only twelve. Samantha whips out a sharp blade. My eyes winden and I pull and try to wrench myself from Shine's grasp. Samantha just laughs, and, fast as lightning, slices her knife deeply into Merrick's neck.

And now I'm screaming my head off and tears pour out of my eyes as blood rushes out of the wound. It's embarrasing, because Merrick isn't acting as crazy as I am, and he's the severly injured one. He's going to die. I can't stand this.

"STOP!"

Shine's grip tightens. And to my horror, Samantha pulls her sword back and forth through Merrick's entire head. It falls to the ground, and my eyes widen, for this is the most horrendous thing my eyes have had the displeasure to see.

"Are we going to kill her now?" Samantha asks.

"Nah, she'll just commit suicide 'cause of the stupid kid," Shine says, and they both laugh. She lets go and I fall to my knees, into a pile of blood on the gravel surrounding the Cornucopia. Merrick's metallic-tasting blood splatters my face. My hands go to my head, which is pounding. I'm hearing voices screaming around me, but it's not real. And when the cannon finally goes off, I squeeze my eyes shut tight.

The legs that once could support me go weak instantly and I fall into this huge pool of blood. I must be mad, because the world is rumbling like an earthquake.

Yes, I'm insane.

After a minute, the shaking hasn't stopped. My eyes fly open and I jump to my feet. And when I see Shine trip to the ground a hundred feet away, I know this is real. A crack opens just next to me, and my toes fall into the crack.

I'm shaking so bad that I trip over a rock and start to fall into the abyss crack. Screaming, I know nobody will come to help me.

_This is when and where I'll die. _

My arms reach up and I grab the sides. But it's not enough. They've grown weak from starvation, and they won't be able to support me much longer.

I can do this. I know I can.

_Push, yourself, Annie! You've always been a fighter! Never give up!_

And, even though I've lost my fight, I push and heave and manage to get to my feet. And that's when the crack starts getting bigger as the still shaking earth gets worse and worse.

What I'm doing now, I don't know. Around the arena there are screams of, "RUN! RUN!" Feet scramble and trip. And that's when I feel something cool and salty running around me, wiping flawlessly around my ankles in a splish-splash movement.

I look down, and it's saltwater. Swimming. Swimming. Yes, Swimming. I can do this.

And, as the water gets higher and higher, all I can think of is how there's a very little chance anyone is a better swimmer here than me. It's higher than me now.

_"You can do this, Annie!" My father says. "You're three now, it's time to learn how to swim. Just get into the deep water, wave your arms wide, and towards your back, and rotate your feet and ankles back and forth under the water." _

_"I'll try, daddy," I say. I hold my breathe.  
>"Don't jump in without breathing out your nose first!" He warns as I go under. And I wave my arms and push my feet back and forth, and I'm doing it, I'm swimming. I'm finally worthy of being in District Four.<em>

The memories surface my brain, and I push my feet back and forth, and wave my arms towards my back. And, of course, I'm swimming.

"Shine!" I hear, and a large splash. A cannon goes off. The earth shakes and shakes and refuses to stop.

_Boom! Boom! Boom!_

It's like a riptide in the water. At first I try to fight it, just nature to do so.

_"Annie, this is lesson 2. When you're in a riptide, don't fight it. It'll just suck you away and under. Just stay calm."_

I close my eyes. I've been in riptides before. Yes, I'm good at being calm. But for some reason, this isn't the same. Why? It's the arena. I'm not in an ocean in District Four, I'm in an arena where people could grab my ankles and drag me under and force me to die with them.

"The mountain!" I hear a cry. "Get to the-" The sentence gets cut off as the owner of the voice getting dragged under the sea. But I hear paddles that will do next to nothing and maybe even footsteps. Yes, I want to go to the mountain and be safe. No, wait. That wouldn't be safe. The others could easily kill me on land, but not here.

The water rises. I dive underneath and open my eyes. I can make out several bodies on the ocean floor, one of whom belongs to Shine. Being completely honest, this water is at least 45 feet deep.

And finally, more screams. Because the water's reached the highest peak in the arena. They can't run anymore. They have to swim. Which obviously isn't their specialty, because another cannon goes off only a minute later.

My feet want to just give up, to just let themselves sink to the bottom and die, which is better than hearing other children's screams for help, and doing nothing, because it's not allowed and I can't reach them and I just want to help.

_Keep Swimming. Paddle harder. Move those feet 2 seconds faster._

I certainly feel mad, and tierd. And I'm hating this moment, hating the 70th Hunger Games. And hate is a word I barely use, because I'm pretty much never a hateful person.

But I hate this.

Then another cannon goes off, and I start to cough as I get saltwater down my mouth.

_How many more could be left? _Not too many, certainly. Is there only one person left besides me? Or what?

My fingers curl and shake, and my feet move swiftly through the water, but I hear no more cannons. Why not? Why not? Is there possibly another person here who can swim? If there is, they can swim pretty damn well.

Trumpets blare, and my eyes widen. I know what this means.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Victor of the 70th Annual Hunger Games, District Four's very own Annie Cresta!"


	2. Chapter 2

_A Drop In the Ocean, A Change In The Weather,_

_I was praying that you and me might end up together,_

_It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert,_

_But I'm holding you closer than most,_

_Because you are my heaven_

When I wake up, tubes are attached to my arms. I blink and look around. When I talk, my voice is hoarse. "Where am I?"

"Don't worry, Annie," Some doctor says. "You're just in the hospital. We're going to fix you up so you can get crowned tommorrow!"

"Crowned?" I ask, astonished.

"Yes. But we're still worried about you. . ."

"Why?" I keep asking questions.

"We think you might've gone mad in the arena after you saw your district partner... beheaded."

I close my eyes and look down. Voices attack my head all screaming and yelling horrible things at me. Yes. I've gone mad. I'm insane and crazy and a physcopath. I remember in the arena, when I was lying in the pool of blood during the earthquake, thinking it was all in my head, and then it just... started. The flood.

"I won?" I ask. It wasn't a dream?

"Yes. You won. Being from District Four, Annie, you swam the best," The doctor answers sympathetically, as if I was stupid or an idiot. As if, as if... I'd gone mad. So why did it make me angry if he was just trying to talk to the true person I am? Why?

I'm crazy. Yes, I'm crazy.

God, I can't stand this. My hands find my head and I grab my hair, blink, and look around. The doctor hesitates. "I want to go home! Please. I just want to go home!"

Someone walks in, smiling a beautiful smile. The doctor says, "I thought you might like to see someone you knew," but I barely hear him, because this person... I barely know. I've known them for only a week before my Games. The doctor walks out of the room, smirking.

"Finnick?" I ask.

"Annie," He answers, and takes my hand in his. It's big and strong and my heart pounds. I'm pretty sure he notices, but he doesn't mention it. Probably just thinks I'm mad like the rest.  
>"How've you been?"<p>

"I'm good," I say. "Sort of." And then I reach over and unlatch the tubes, because I think they're stupid.

"_Annie," _He says, laughing. "You need those." Then he moves his arm swiftly over my entire body and reattaches them perfectly. Finnick sees my look of confusion and says,

"I had a _lot _of tubes after I got out of the Games. More than you. More than most. It was _bad_," He says.

"Oh."

He smiles at me, and I smile at him, and we're like one, united, happy. And suddenly, I think I might be in love with him, and suddenly, I think maybe he's feeling the same. We stay where we are: Me, on the hopsital bed, lying under the sheets; Finnick, down on one of his knees, but he's still at the same height as me.

Silent, not moving, both of us. I don't dare look away. In fact, I don't think I'd even be able to tear my eyes away from those gorgeous sea-green eyes.

"Annie?" He whispers.  
>"Yes?"<p>

"Think it'd be crazy if I said I think I'm falling in love with you?"

And now my heart is pounding, because Finnick Odair, the beautiful-strong-Victor of the 65th Hunger Games Finnick Odair, just said he's falling in love with me, and I feel the same way and maybe it doesn't even matter if he's sold to the Capitol people because he doesn't love them, he loves me and we could be together forever and-

I have to stop myself, because my thoughts are running wild.

"You aren't crazy, I am," I say quietly, blushing red as a tomato.

"I'm crazy in love."

I look down and mange to stammer out, "You kept me alive."

"Yes, yes I did," He admits. "So now you owe me."

"What do I have to do?" I ask.

Finnick doesn't say anything, just leans in and kisses me softly, but with passion. I wrap my arms around him and he pulls back.

I smile foolishly.

"Would you be willing to that?"He asks, chucking.

"That seems like an appropriate way to pay back my debts," I say, breathing in and exhaling, smiling, showing my teeth, and for the first time, I feel safe and loved.

"Finnick," I say lightly.

"Yes?" He asks, acting calm.

I close my eyes. Open them. My pounding heart feels as if it's about to burst. "I love you, too."


	3. Chapter 3

I breathe in the fresh summer air and, as I lie on the beach, I wonder. I wonder many things. It's embarrasing how going crazy got rid of everything I knew. Honestly, I just _can't _remember where I grew up, or how old I am (sometimes), or where I went to school. I don't know what my favorite food or animal or color is.

And so, I squeeze my eyes shut and I try to gather my thoughts. I finally think I know that my favorite animal is a whale when I hear someone- or _something _- behind me.

I jump to my feet immediatly and my eyes fly open. I know it's a person when I see the figure, but my vision's still distorted. And, to be more embarrasing, I fall backwards into the sand.

"Annie?" The voice asks.

"Finnick? Is it you?"

He laughs. "Yes, it's me."

"Good. I thought you were...someone else."

Finally, I can see. Finnick helps me to my feet and pulls me into a hug. I re-close my eyes. Yep, my favorite animal is definatly a whale.

"What're you doing here?" I ask, and I don't purposely make my confusion crystal-clear.

He holds up a basket. "You forget about our picnic in _our _spot today?" He asks, but by his tone, he's not angry.

"Yes, I'm sorry," I admit. "I forget everything."

Finnick stares right into my eyes. Now he can't lie to me, if he's looking in them. It was our deal. "No, you don't."

I smile. "Okay. Can we still have a picnic?" I ask hopefully, and smile into his sea-green eyes, just like mine.

"Yes, we may," He says, and holds out his free hand for me. I take it and we start walking.

"Yay," I reply, happy to be doing something normal after my Victory Tour. Finnick and I have developed a normal relationship and I fall more in love with him every day. I know what he's doing in the Capitol, and I know it's not his fault. I could still leave him, because he's cheating on me.

Despite that, I love him, and love knows no bounds, even with our hectic lives that started the day our names were called for the reaping.

When we arrive at 'our place', a small area of woods with a small clearing next to the beach, we immediatly begin to do things. I offer to set up the firewood for our campfire tonight, but Finnick insists he do it.

I shrug, "Okay."

So, instead, as Finnick gathers the wood, I set up the blanket and beautifully scented candles-vanilla, my favorite- and the food. He brought everything. Some of these are probably my favorites, but I don't even know.

"What are my favorite foods?" I ask.

"Hmm, lets see. . ." He begins, and thinks for only a moment. "You love vegetables, but you won't eat seafood or anything that I get from District Ten. Apples are your favorites, though. You devour the yogurt in my fridge, but that's okay. Oh, and pineapple."

Reluctantly, I ask, "I really like fruits and vegetables?"

"Yes."

"So, that's why you brought so many?"

He smiles. "Yes."

"Thank you," I say, and smile back. He walks over and brushes the hair out of my face, like he always does because he knows how happy it makes me. And it makes him happy to make me happy. "You're _so very _welcome." Then he leans in and kisses me lightly on the lips before getting back to work on the firewood.

I clear out the basket after setting up everything and I realize something. "Finnick, did you remember to bring matches?"

The smiling face that was just looking at me falls and I laugh because it's funnier than anything he usually does.

He pats all his pocket and lights up, thinking he might've found it. But when he pulls it out, it's just an empty box.

"Crap," He says. I put my hands on my hips and grin, which makes him put his finger in the air, as if to say hold on. "It's okay," He says with a note of superioty. "I can make fires on my own!"

I'm not convinced, but I'm so foolishly happy. "And where did you learn how to do that?" I ask.

"In the aren-" He stops short, and I start taking deep breathes, trying to ward away the memories.

Finnick is by my side immediatly, holding me in my arms. "Annie, it's okay," he whispers. "You're safe."


End file.
